Enticed (Two Marks 3)

“It’s not my fault your people burned that place down. That was my grandparents’ house!”

Oh shit, now that was my father, and he was talking about the homestead. He knew someone burned it down? People who were with or working for the other guy?

“It’s your job to find me places to mix.”

“I got you this trailer, didn’t I?”

Mix? Were they really making meth here?

“You did good. Now my men need to work and to be able to get the product out of this spot. Could you pick a location any fucking further from a real road?”

“I might have a shit ton of acreage, but I have employees. My daughter’s even back. I can’t keep all of them from working the land, doing their jobs.”

“Figure that shit out, Jenkins. Including your daughter. You’re alive because we need you.”

I heard that threat. Knew it wasn’t given idly.

A crash came from inside, which made me jump. I couldn’t stay any longer. I had what I needed. Hell, I had more than what I ever wanted to know.

I moved as fast as I could away from the trailer and back to the creek, crouching down as if I were avoiding rotors of a helicopter instead of hiding from a mysterious and dangerous meth maker. My father had said the place was Tim Hollaroy’s, and that he was staying here because he was having marriage problems. Was it Mr. Hollaroy who was with my dad? I’d met the man many times in my life, but not enough to be able to identify his voice. Still, my dad had fed me clues to lead my mind to think of him. Why would he say this was his trailer if it belonged to someone else? It was a flimsy lie. Yet was Hollaroy the one behind all this?

As I made my way back to my truck, I wondered how long this had been going on. How had my dad been caught up in all of this? Shooting wolves was more his speed, and something that hadn’t really surprised me all that much when I’d heard about what he’d done last year. I hadn’t been thrilled because hunting to eat was one thing, hunting for sport was another.

But meth? It sounded as if he was in way over his head.

I had to tell Theo and Holt. They’d been right. I might be able to sneak across a field and overhear a conversation at a trailer-sized meth lab, but bringing people to justice was out of my skill set.

When I settled behind the wheel, my hands shook. I took a deep breath, let it out. I needed Holt and Theo, more than just for their jobs. I was scared, and wanted the comfort I knew I could find in their arms. Because they meant safety, and right now, I sure as shit didn’t feel all that safe, even on my own land.

8

THEO

I dropped Ariel with my parents and worked late out of the Sheriff’s Office. Holt texted and said he hadn’t managed to coax our mate into coming over for round two. I hadn’t been able to do so earlier since I’d had my sister with me. Frustrated and with my wolf pushing me to act, I returned to Holt’s house, shifted, and ran through the darkness. Craving her was just too much potent energy for my human form to handle. While we’d agreed she was safe on her own property, even though we now knew it really was part of my meth investigation, it didn’t have my wolf settling.

I ran for several hours until my muscles were warmed and stretched and my feet tired, then I headed back. I saw Holt’s SUV heading up the road as I loped through the woods. I picked up speed to arrive at the same time he did.

He wasn’t Ali, but I was glad to be staying with him instead of with my family. It meant we were in this together. We’d figure things out with our mate. Soon, the three of us would become a family of our own.

What I failed to notice was that there was already a truck parked in front of the house.

Ali’s truck.

Fuck, yes.

She had her arms around Holt, giving him what looked like a warm greeting. That meant she was safe. Whole. Here.

I skidded to a stop at the tree line, praying she wouldn’t hear the crunch of twigs beneath my paws.

Of course, Holt had. His head jerked up, and our eyes met in the darkness. His attention drew Ali’s. She turned and gasped. “Is that a wolf?”

“No, it’s my neighbor’s dog,” Holt answered easily.

I was glad that he’d come up with an easy lie, but it was a missed opportunity for him to tell the truth, to nudge our relationship—our mating—along.

“Hey, have you seen the moon tonight?” He looped an arm around her waist and drew her to my back deck. I dashed for the porch steps and shifted mid-stride, in time to use the door handle.